The consent process is an integral piece of research and evaluation studies, especially when conducted within a school setting. The challenge of reaching parents of students to obtain consent is an issue with which those conducting school-based studies grapple. The literature suggests that the success of the consent process can affect the representativeness of the sample. This study describes one consent approach and examines the demographic differences between the eligible population, the consenters and the refusers. Demographic differences were found between consenters and refusers and suggestions are offered for further research and for other researchers who conduct school-based projects.
Anderman, Carolyn, Allen Cheadle, Susan Curry, Paula Diehr, Linda Shultz, and Edward Wagner.1995. Selection bias related to parental consent in school-based survey research. Evaluation Review19:663-74.
2.
Baker, Joseph R., John K. Yardley, and Kerri McCaul .2001. Characteristics of responding-, nonresponding- and refusing-parents in an adolescent lifestyle choice study . Evaluation Review25:605.
3.
Bethell, C.D., Read D., Stein R. E. K., Blumberg S.J., Wells N., and Newacheck P.W., 2002. Identifying children with special health care needs; development and evaluation of a short screening instrument. Ambulatory Pediatrics2:38-47.
4.
Cline, Amy, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Elena Strickland, and Tara Hamann.2005. Recruitment strategies for the Princeton (Ohio) City School District Epidemiological Study. Journal of School Health75):189-91.
5.
Esbensen, Finn-Aage, Michelle Hughes Miller, Terrance J. Taylor, and Ni He, 1999. Differential attrition rates and active parental consent . Evaluation Review23:316.
6.
Galvao, Loren, Jessica P. Bergstrom, M. Kathleen Murphy, Elizabeth Fayram, Sally Lundeen, and Ron A. Cisler .2007. Fostering an academic-school district partnership to improve school health information, planning and decision-making . Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
7.
Harrell, Joanne S., Chyrise Bradley, Jennifer Dennis, Annette C. Frauman, and Elaine S. Criswell .2000. School-based research: Problems of access and consent. Journal of Pediatric Nursing15:14-21.
8.
Harrington, Kathleen F., Dianne Binkley, Kim D. Reynolds, Ruth C. Duvall, John R. Copeland, Frank Franklin, and James Raczynski .1997. Recruitment issues in school-based research: Lessons Learned from the High 5 Alabama Project. Journal of School Health67:415-21.
9.
Henry, Kimberly, Edward A Smith, and Abigail Hopkins .2002. The effect of active parental consent on the ability to generalize the results of an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention trial to rural adolescents. Evaluation Review26:645-55.
10.
Ji, Peter, Brian R. Flay, David L. DuBois, Vanessa Brechling, Joseph Day, and Dan Cantillon .2006. Consent form return rates for third grade urban elementary students. American Journal of Health Behavior30:467-74.
11.
Ji, Peter Y, Steven B. Pokorny, and Leonard A Jason .2004. Factors influencing middle and high schools’ active parental consent return rates. Evaluation Review28:578-91.
12.
Leakey, Tricia, Kevin B. Lunde, Karin Koga, and Karen Glanz.2004. Written parental consent and the use of incentives in a Youth Smoking Prevention Trial: A case study from project splash. American Journal of Evaluation25:509-23.
13.
O’Donnell, Lydia N., Richard H. Duran, Alexi San Doval, Michael J. Breslin, Gregory M. Juhn, and Ann Stueve.1997. Obtaining written parent permission for school-based health surveys of urban young adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health21:376-83.
14.
Pokorny, Steven B., Leonard A Jason, Michael E. Schoeny, Stephanie M. Townsend, and Carrie J. Curie .2001. Do participation rates change when active consent procedures replace passive consent. Evaluation Review25:567-80.
15.
Riley, Anne W., Christopher B. Forrest, George W. Rebok, Barbara Starfield, Bert F. Green, Judith A. Robertson, and Phyllis Friello .2004. The child report form of the chip-child edition-Reliability and validity. Medical Care42:221-31.
16.
Ross, J.G., E.C. Sundberg, and K.H. Flint.1999. Informed Consent in School Health Research: Why, How and Making It Easy. Journal of School Health69:171-76..
17.
Stein, Bradley D., Lisa H. Jaycox, Audra Langley, Sheryl H. Kataoka, Windy S. Wilkins, and Marleen Wong.2007. Active parental consent for a school-based community violence screening: Comparing distribution methods. Journal of School Health77:116-20.
18.
Unger, Jennifer B., Peggy Gallaher, Paula H. Palmer, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Dennis R. Trinidad, Steven Cen, and C. Anderson Johnson .2004. Characteristics of adolescents who provide neither parental consent nor refusal for participation in school-based survey research. Evaluation Review28:52-63.
